


Memory of a Memory

by kory_anders



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC Universe
Genre: Brief mentions of other characters - Freeform, Gen, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, i guess this is a redemption arc?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-02 14:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13319856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kory_anders/pseuds/kory_anders
Summary: Black Siren has always felt indebted to the ones who save her, but now it's Oliver's turn.(a what if story where Oliver saves Dinah Laurel's life and in turn, requests she tries to see things from their point of view. this is not a ship fic, just a possibility for her future redemption arc)





	1. Memory Core

**Author's Note:**

> I was reading up on Siren and as I was looking through her code of honor, a thought struck me. What if instead of a bad guy saving her, it was one of the good guys? I chose Oliver mostly because of how open he's been to reforming her in the past and I will admit I long for GA/BC to be reunited. 
> 
> Title is taken from the Adventure Time episode, though the two have nothing to do with each other. Shout out to my good friend Kat who discusses Dinah stuff with me!
> 
> *unedited as of posting this, will edit at some point tomorrow

One bad decision after another. Even before the change, Dinah's life had been messy, but she was happy. 

After all that time trying to find her own way, Dinah still ended up working under another "savior". She was always grateful that someone would be there to pull her out of the rubble from her past mistakes, but she was tired of fighting every single day. There weren't very many heroes where she was from and the ones that were there left a bad taste. Still, every time she fought the archer and his crew, she hoped someone would see how much she was hurting. 

Dinah never got to really grieve. Her mother was cursed and ran off to find a cure, her father and her family died, and the only people that wanted to give her a chance were the ones on the wrong side. What's a girl to do when the person who saves you turns out to be a villain? She makes a choice to survive or be cast down like everyone else in her life, and Dinah Laurel Lance was not going to be left behind or forgotten. 

Still, just her luck that the stupid explosion in Central City gave her the same powers that made her mother run away. The night she got them, Dinah hiked out to the middle of no where in the dead of night and just screamed. She screamed and cried until there wasn't anything left in her, letting out all her anger and frustration. Dinah was all alone with no one to turn to and a constant remind of all the things she lost in her life. 

Which is how she ended up on Earth One, fighting the man who looked like her lost love and her father. 

"Ms. Lance, I'm afraid our time together has come to an end. I'd thank you for your service, but you've grown weak and that weakness has sabotaged our plans." Cayden James wasn't the most intimidating person Dinah had come across in her life, but he had so many people under him that would jump at the chance to become his right hand. No one is ever safe in a criminal organization. 

Dinah banged on the door to the room she was being kept in. It was empty save for a bed and a speaker on the wall. "No, you can't do this to me! I've been loyal to you since the beginning and this is how you treat me? Open the door, please," she yelled. When her words wouldn't work, she tried to sonic scream her way out, but nothing would come out. 

Cayden rolled his eyes at her attempts to escape, clearly hoping she would be smarter than this. "You always were the brawns, my dear. Don't bother screaming or trying to escape. There's a power dampener in the room and it's soundproof." He took his hand off of the speaker's button and began to walk away without looking back. 

She froze at his words and once he was gone, she made her way towards the bed. Dinah sat down and began to cry, just like she did all those years ago. This would be the last place she would ever see, because she knew that no one was going to rescue her this time. Horrible thoughts about her fate began to cross her mind and Dinah hoped that at least her death would be quick and that she would see her family again. Which afterlife do you go to if you're on a parallel world? Dinah laid back and closed her eyes, wishing that this would all be over soon. 

Some time passed and just as Dinah was falling asleep, the door slid open. She sat up quickly but kept her eyes on the ground. It was probably just one of Cayden's men to finish the job. There wasn't any point in fighting this or trying to fight for her life. Dinah had nothing left. Everything was silent and she hadn't heard any weapons being withdrawn or fired. 

When she glanced towards the door, Dinah knew that she must be dreaming. Ollie was gone, and yet somehow he was standing right there in front of her. She got up slowly and walked towards him. As she drew closer, she noticed that he was in the Green Arrow's costume. Dinah frowned and shook her head to try and clear thoughts of her love out of her head. 

"What are you doing here? Is it time for the big battle already?" she asked mockingly, trying to buy some time so she could figure out how to escape. "I would have broken out the good leather if I had known. Oh well, guess I'll have to hurt you in this old thing."

Neither of them made any move towards each other. Oliver looked at her strangely for a moment before replying, "It's done Laurel. The fight is over, unless you plan on resisting again."

"So what? No team to back you up? No voices in their ears giving the kill signal? If this is a trick, you'll regret it."

"No tricks. I figured you'd like to see my face more than anyone else's."

He grabbed her arm and began to lead her out of the room as she contemplated what to do next. On the one hand, he did just save her and her old team betrayed her, but on the other, they were on opposite teams. Dinah figured she'd just have to bite the bullet. 

"You know, you saved me. Cayden left me for dead and locked me in that room because I let Larry go. He was going to let me rot in that room for the rest of my life and you just took me out of there."

"Guess it's about time a good guy saved you, but now that means you owe me one. You told me once that you felt like you owed something to the people that saved you, and trust me I plan to collect."

Dinah sighed in feigned annoyance. She figured he would remember that conversation. If only she had saved herself, and maybe she wouldn't be in this mess. 

The two walked for a while and made their way through the seemingly endless corridors before meeting up with the rest of Oliver's team. When they arrived, the team looked at Dinah with surprise and disgust. Some instinctively put a hand on their weapons in case Dinah was going to attack them. One of them asked what he was doing with her unrestrained and without a dampener. 

"Oh shut up. Honestly, if I was going to kill you, I would have done so already. The fact is, I owe Oliver and until he decides to collect or put me somewhere, you kiddos are stuck with me."

"Wait a minute! Oliver you can't be serious, she's evil dude."

Oliver stared at his teammates until they quieted down enough to listen to him speak. Dinah, however, tuned out since she really didn't care what the rest of the team thought of her. She knew she couldn't change their minds even if she wanted to. Soon enough, they all moved out and began to head back to their base of operations. She looked around and felt slightly proud that she recognized all the new equipment. They had to replace a lot when she blew her cover and revealed herself as Dinah Laurel. Blondie wasn't happy to see her, but she'd let Oliver deal with the domestic problems. 

She wasn't surprised when Oliver led her to her old cell in the back corner of the cave. He would be a fool to think he could trust her, even if she was in his debt. Dinah laid back on the bed in her cell and began to think of all the possible things Oliver Queen could want from her.


	2. Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Dinah Drake and Dinah Laurel are in the same scene, I'll refer to the former as Dinah and the latter as Dinah Laurel so there isn't any confusion. If it's just Dinah Laurel, then I'll refer to her as Dinah like the previous chapter and she'll be called by Oliver/the rest, Laurel.
> 
> *note this chapter may be eh because i typed the whole thing out and it was lost so i'm retyping this from scratch

"We're so similar, it's weird to think we're on different sides."

Ah, her usual visitor and her replacement. Dinah Laurel glanced over to the other woman standing on the outside of her cell. She never talked much, but she would admit it was nice to have someone come by to see her. Not many other people did. Dinah Laurel sat there for a moment and just stared at the current Black Canary.

"Am I? Do you know me on earth two?" Dinah asked. She wasn't the first to wonder about what her counterpart was like, especially since she was so new to other worlds. Everyone wanted to know who they were in the "bad" world. Am I evil? Do I still have powers? What's my city like? People always assume that they would be the same in every universe but Dinah Laurel Lance is living proof that you aren't always the same person.

Dinah Laurel chuckled, thinking about her old life. "I knew of you. It was hard not to know you, because your face was all over."

The other woman frowned. Was she some sort of famous person in that world? Dinah never wanted to be the center of attention; she was just a woman who wanted to do what was right and help the people who needed it. Being famous wouldn't allow her to do that unless she was some sort of activist or politician?

"I'll tell you a story and maybe that will clear some things up. A long time ago in the second great war, there was a group of pilots called the Blackhawks. They were the greatest pilots the world had ever seen and fought to overthrow the dictators and tyrants. The Hawks lived on an island where they stored their planes, uniforms, and discussed battle plans. Everyone wanted to be them, including two women who eventually joined after some resistance, Zinda Blake and Natalie Reed. I was obsessed with them as a kid, I mean here were two women who did whatever they wanted and never let anyone get in their way. You were Natalie's granddaughter, and you never let anyone get in your way either," Dinah Laurel paused, checking to see if she was still listening. Dinah sat there, listening intently. At least in that world, she was someone good. It would kill her to know there's a version out there somewhere where she's evil.

After a few seconds, she continued on. "You looked up to your grandmother too and over the years, you made sure that you learned all of her skills to become just like her. You became Lady Blackhawk too and helped the Blackhawk company survive. I saw your face everywhere."

Dinah smiled at her, pleased that she was similar to her counterpart on earth two. She would hate to have been completely different on that earth.

"I guess that's why I hated you, still kinda do. When I came over from my earth, I was hurt and afraid of what Zoom would do to me if I didn’t follow him. I kept getting saved by villains until I convinced myself I was one," Dinah said. She paused for a moment to look down at her hands, as if they would give her the strength to continue speaking. "But when I saw you, I just started to see red. You use my mother's name, her powers, her mantle. It made me so mad to see you with what should be my legacy. Goddess, I'm stuck with this stupid name. I chose it to spite my mother since she ran out on me." 

There was a silent moment between them. Dinah Laurel hadn't ever really talked about what had happened to her before the accident. 

"You know, I don't really hate her. It was just hard for me to forgive her for leaving me and never coming back. When I got my powers, I thought I had been cursed as well. What are the chances that we both had a subsonic scream and a penchant for fishnets," she chuckled humorously. “I think deep down I chose this name so I wouldn’t let my mother down again. She was a fighter before she got cursed and her mantle was the Black Canary. I don’t know what happened after she left me, but she never came back and Black Canary was forgotten.” 

Dinah sat there for a moment, staring at the woman behind the glass. She wondered what it must be like to have your whole world ripped away from you.  
"Fuck that world really did a number on you, didn't it?" 

They laughed together and began to open up to each other. Dinah Laurel was still bitter about someone else using her mother's mantle, but she couldn't help but feel friendship towards the other woman. They had a lot in common and really got along when they weren't locked in constant battle. The two women talked for a few hours before Dinah Laurel noticed Quentin walking up to them with a nervous look on his face. When he got to her cell, he placed a hand on Dinah's shoulder. 

She looked at him before standing up and saying, "I'll let you two talk, but Laurel, if you'd like I can come back tomorrow." The two nodded at each other, ready to explore this newfound but tentative friendship. 

Dinah Laurel was surprised that this world's version of her father would actually come to see her, but she was glad he did. She missed her father a lot, even if she would never show it out of fear that her emotions would be used against her. The first and only time they got to her was when she held her father hostage and they talked about the similarities between their worlds. 

"I'm glad you came to see me. It, uh, means a lot to me." 

Quentin sat down in the chair the other woman had just vacated and said, "I guess I'm just curious, it's not everyday you get a chance to speak to your dead daughter's doppelgänger from another world." 

She laughed nervously. Dinah hated that she wasn't seen as her own person, but how could she blame them when she looked just like their Laurel? She looked down at her hands once again and thought about what she wanted to say. There was so much she wanted to talk about: Laurel's childhood, what his family was like, who she was. 

Dinah looked back up at Quentin and said, "I wanted to say that I'm sorry. That night when we talked about Laurel, it was the first time I had opened up to someone in a very long time. I’ve told the general sad story so many times, but my father dying is something I don’t talk about.”

He touched his hand to the glass. Dinah wasn’t his daughter, but it was easy for him to forget that. She had his daughter’s face, voice, and the same look when she was trying to keep from crying. Quentin found it very easy to get caught up in the moment with her. 

“You aren’t my Laurel, but you’re still Laurel. I don’t know you fully and I might never quite understand you. Hell, your father and I may have nothing in common, but I saw something in you. When you told me about your birthday tradition, I saw her in your eyes. You had the same look she did whenever she had to take care of me.”

They both stared at each other for a long moment, hoping that they could catch a glimpse of the person they lost. The moment was broken though when Quentin shook his head and stood up. He unlocked the cell and stepped inside. 

“While I do appreciate the heart to heart, I actually came here for another reason. Oliver’s decided to cash in his favor and I’m here to escort you,” he said while putting a power dampener on her. They couldn’t take any chances even if she owed Oliver one. “Maybe when we get back we can continue our discussion.”

Dinah’s heart soared. She wasn’t naive; she didn’t expect that they would warm up to her right away after everything that she did to them, but it was comforting to know that they would at least talk to her. 

She didn’t know where they didn’t know where they were going, but it was at least a few minutes away since Quentin was driving. She watched through the window as they drove to the outskirts of the city. Where could they possibly be going this far out? As they turned down a dirt road leading to the middle of the forest. Was Oliver gonna finally get the guts to kill her? 

After a few minutes, they reached a clearing where Oliver and two other people were waiting alongside a spaceship of some sorts. Dinah couldn’t quite make out what it was or who the other two people were. 

Quentin pulled up next to them and stopped the car, motioning for Dinah to get out. She exited and went to join the others. Now that she was closer, she saw the newcomers more clearly. 

The blonde woman was Sara, Laurel’s sister and co-captain of the time travel crew. Her presence was a shock to Dinah since there wasn’t anything for her in this world’s past. None of her family was here and watching Laurel from a distance probably wouldn’t make Dinah suddenly become her. 

Oliver started to introduce them to Dinah, saying “Laurel, this is John-” before she cut him off.  
“Constantine, I know. The magic man, but where’s your lovely assistant? You two could hardly stand to be apart from each other on my world. She was always hanging onto you.” 

Constantine looked shocked for a moment, wondering who she was talking about. The closest he had to an assistant was Chas, but clearly that wasn’t the person she was referring to. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up before saying, “Don’t know who you’re talking about love, but I’d be curious to hear what you know about me. I’ve got a certain reputation when it comes to magic, so I like to make friends with who I can.” 

Dinah was about to tell him about his counterpart, but before she could, Sara interjected. 

“Do you know me? I mean I know you’re not my Laurel, but are we sisters there?” she asked. Sara reached a hand out as if she was going to grab Dinah, but she didn’t close the gap between them. 

For a moment, Dinah considered lying to make this woman feel better, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She shook her head and said, “No. I’m an only child and as far as I know, Sara Lance doesn’t exist. The White Canary was one of my mother’s opponants, and she was also Asian. I guess things just didn’t quite work out the same way.” 

Sara smiled sadly and drew her hand back to her side. There wasn’t much to say to that, and she felt the pain of losing her sister all over again.  
After a few awkward moments, the four of them boarded the ship. Dinah wandered around, lagging behind Oliver and John who were locked in a heated discussion. The ship was pretty big and the technology was actually pretty impressive to look at. She didn’t get much time to appreciate it though, before she felt the ship touch down onto solid ground again. Perks of time travel, she figured. 

Once Sara reappeared from the bridge, they stepped out into the forest once again, however, it was nighttime. Since they were on the outskirts of town, Dinah couldn’t tell what day or year it was, but while she looked around, she noticed a car waiting for them in the clearing. 

This must be part of his plan, Dinah thought. Oliver slid into the driver’s seat, and soon they were on their way to the city. As they drove, he continued to make eye contact with John and Dinah in the backseat, who were chatting about earth two. 

“You have everything you need, John?” he asked during a lull in their conversation.  
Constantine rolled his eyes and pulled out another cigarette. He tapped his head and the left side of his chest before saying, “I’ve got everything I need right here. This’ll be simple mate. No need to worry about any baddies coming from me today.” 

With that, the car was silent. Dinah’s mind began racing again, trying to figure out what he meant by that. On her world, John Constantine was a travelling magician, who did simple conjuring spells to entertain people at festivals. She wondered how dangerous this version of him was if he had to put a disclaimer that he wasn’t going to summon anything horrible. 

In what felt like minutes, they pulled up near a hospital and made their way towards an unused side door. Oliver led them up to a higher level and down a long corridor. They walked hurridly, and when he found the right room, he pulled them all inside. 

Lying on the bed inside was herself, or rather Laurel. Dinah stared at the other woman and found herself wondering for the fourth time that night what Oliver’s plan was. As she stared, the others moved around the room, setting up for whatever Constantine was going to do. Dinah’s concentration broke when Sara sat down on the bed and grabbed her sister’s hand. 

“Laurel, sweetie, I need you to wake up. We have something important to tell you,” she said, rubbing her thumb across the hand she was holding. Laurel stirred and opened her eyes. Her face lit up when she saw her sister and Oliver in the room, but the light faded when she saw Dinah. 

She sat up a bit and looked at the other woman up and down before asking, “Who-who is this? Why does she look like me?” 

“This is another version of you. Laurel, you. You die here in a few hours and I can’t save you. If I try, everything will fall apart, but that’s why she’s here. We can save you if you let us copy your memories and put them in her.” 

All the blood in Dinah’s head rushed to her ears and she leaned in to whisper to Oliver. “Are you fucking crazy? You’re gonna force me to have her memories, in the hopes of what? Turning me into her?” 

He shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder. Oliver forced her to look at him before he replied, “No, we aren’t. I wanted to at the start, to try and make you good, but John wouldn’t do it. Instead, he figured out a way to put her memories into a potion. The potion will last forever so you have a choice: drink it and stay with us to try and redeem yourself or leave and never return to Star City. My favor is taking you here to see firsthand how much she was loved and show you who you can become.” 

It was a tempting offer, and Dinah began making a pros and cons list in her head. Before she could finish, however, Laurel spoke and directed their attention to herself. 

“I’ll do it. I may not be able to save the world, but at least I can save myself,” she said. 

With that, John started the spell, speaking in a language Dinah couldn’t understand or recognize. She watched him as he continued, but soon everything started to glow brightly. She shut her eyes and waited for everything to go back to normal.

When the glowing stopped, she opened her eyes and looked at John. He held out a bottle filled with shimmery liquid and said, “There you are love. One lifetime’s worth of memories for your consumption. I recommend you take it all at once or it won’t work correctly. On the downside, you’ll have a massive headache, but that’s the price of magic.” 

Sara and Oliver hugged Laurel again and said their goodbyes. It was hard for them to know this was the last time they would see their Laurel again. Before they could all leave, she made eye contact with Dinah once again and said “Take care of them, okay? They’ll need someone to lean on. And remember to save yourself, if you can’t save the world.” 

Laurel’s last words to her made Dinah’s mind race. She was now faced with a difficult choice concerning her future and who she was going to become. She thought about all the different possibilities as they drove back to the ship and back to the present. Dinah was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice she was back in her cell until Oliver began to speak to her. 

“I’ll let you stay for a few days to figure out what you’re going to do, but for what it’s worth, I think you can become so much more than who you currently are, Laurel.”

He walked away, leaving Dinah to sit on her bed. She held the bottle in her hand and ran her fingers over the sides of it. The choice was hers to make, but she would have to make it alone. Dinah wasn’t sure about what would come next, but she knew that she wouldn’t be the same person she was when this all started. 

She whispered into the darkness, “Call me-”


	3. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! First off, I want to thank yall for sticking with this and actually reading my work. This is the first of many arrow fics I have planned so if you like it be on the lookout for more. I'm planning a large rewrite of the show next, once I finish my outstanding JayKyle fic. 
> 
> Second, I want to thank my friends for letting me bounce ideas off of them and helping me plan out what to do. Specifically, my friend Kat has been a huge part of the process thank you so much!!!
> 
> Finally, I really hope you enjoy the last chapter of this. I changed Sara's Arabic name a smidge since I was talking to someone and they mentioned that her codename made no sense. I also have Dinah as just Siren and Nyssa as Lamia bc badass mythic girlfriends is a great idea and I wanted Nyssa to have a cool name too. I know I said this wasn't a ship fic originally but I love Lauryssa a lot so I wanted to add it in

_Dinah Laurel Lance_  

 

**You don’t see me as an equal**

 

**We’re hoping you can’t change who you are in your bones**

 

**Protecting good people? That’s what we do**

 

_I was alone and adrift and you showed me kindness_

 

**I’m the Justice you can’t run from**

 

This isn’t me

 

**New frequency, Same Canary**

 

“Laurel, Laurel can you hear me?” a voice called out. It was so hard to hear anything, and all of Dinah’s thoughts swirled in her head. Where they just her thoughts? No, there was a whole other person here.

Time was moving in and out, and she couldn’t open her eyes or figure out where she was. Dinah felt herself be picked up and moved, but she didn’t know who did it or where they were going. After a few seconds of struggling, she passed out. Dinah’s mind was straining against the other memories in her head.

When Dinah woke up, she was strapped to an examiner’s table with no recollection of how she got there. She tried to look around and figure out her surroundings, but she couldn’t move her head. A wave of panic rose in her and she was about to scream when she heard someone come in.

“Hello? I don’t know you you are, but when I get out of here, you’re dead meat.”

The person walked closer until they were right next to her. Dinah still couldn’t see them, but she knew they were there. They chuckled and reached out to undo the straps around her head.

“Come now love, you’re gonna have to get in line if you want to kill me. I’ve got demons chasing me left and right trying to nab a piece of this,” they said.

Dinah looked over at the person, and for a moment she had no idea who he was. He looked and sounded familiar, but everything was still fuzzy when she tried to remember him. The person noticed her look of confusion and smiled.

“Who..? Do I know you?”

“That you do, I helped you out with a little memory problem. John Constantine, glad to be of service yet again,” he said unhooking the rest of the straps tying her down.

Once he said his name, it’s as if everything came rushing back all at once. Dinah remembered the past few months: fighting with the Green Arrow and his crew, being betrayed by Cayden, meeting Laurel. She also saw flashes of Laurel’s life every now and again, as if they were just added onto her own memories.

Cautiously, Dinah sat up and turned to face Constantine. She put a hand to her head as a headache suddenly started to form and said “What happened? Gods, why does my head hurt so much?”

Constantine pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his shirt pocket and took one out. He held the pack towards her, but she shook her head. Lighting the cigarette, he nodded towards the empty bottle on a table a few feet away.

“You drank the memories, and unfortunately I didn’t think about the nasty side effects that may come up,” he said taking a drag of the cigarette. “All of your and Laurel’s memories mixed together, and you couldn’t handle them both. Not to worry though, I sorted everything out and your memory core is back to normal. You shouldn’t have any more trouble, but if you do, give me a call.”

He handed her a card and she slips it into her pocket. Before she can say anything else or ask any more questions, the door opened and Oliver walked in. When he noticed Dinah was finally awake, he rushed over and grabbed her shoulder. She looked into his eyes and saw worry there. It was odd to see that look directed at herself since it had been so long.

“Are you okay? When I heard you scream and saw you lying there, I was worried so I called John.”

Dinah shrugged and he took his hand off of her shoulder. Was she okay? It was hard to say for sure, but her mind was calm now. Maybe she could make it through this.

 

**MARCH 2018-**

 

It had been a month since the memory ordeal and Dinah was still working towards redeeming herself for her past mistakes. Nobody expected her to suddenly become Laurel, and she never wanted that in the first place, but the team didn’t expect how hard it would be to break her of her old habits.

Most of Dinah’s time was spent with Oliver; they talked and trained and figured out what to do next. He was patient with her, which actually surprised Dinah because she remembered his words towards Laurel. Oliver didn’t originally think Laurel could handle herself, but after her death, he gained a bit of perspective.

She also hung around Quentin’s apartment when they weren’t busy. This version of her father liked to show her photographs and videos of his daughter, even though he knew she remembered everything.

Over dinner one night, he asked her about her future.

“What do you want to do with your life now?” 

The question made her pause, and she didn’t know how to answer him. Dinah spent most of her life with criminals, and that wasn’t something you could just forget overnight. Her first instinct was to shut down and avoid Quentin’s words, but she gave it some real thought.

“I don’t really know. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a singer in a rock band, but that sort of fell through. I haven’t really had time or luxury to think about anything other than the job I was working,” she said pushing her food around.

Quentin noticed what she was doing and reached over to grab her hand, giving it a quick squeeze before he let go. “Whatever you decide to do, I’ll be there to help you.”

The two of them started eating again, and Quentin began telling Dinah about the different cases he was investigating at work. She laughed at his stories and told her own about some of her father’s cases when she was a kid. Larry had been a private investigator and Dinah was always fascinated with the work he did. It always seemed so interesting, and she found that she felt the same way listening to Quentin’s stories.

 

**APRIL 2018-**

 

Spring was a time for rebirth and growth which fit Dinah’s life perfectly. She was healing and letting go of the past to start again fresh. It was still a lot of work, but she was happy again for the first time in a long time. With the spring came a new job and a new life. Dinah, with help from Oliver, followed in her mother’s footsteps and opened a flower shop in the middle of the city.

Sherwood Florist was cathartic for her, and Dinah felt at peace among the flowers. Anyone and everyone came in to buy their bouquets from her since she had beautiful arrangements in all colors and sizes. She also had flowers that were hard to find because of Oliver’s financial contributions. Dinah did everything herself, but now she wasn’t one to turn down a helping hand when she needed it.

It was the perfect place for an old friend to find her once again. While she opened the shop, a woman with dark hair and her hood pulled up walked in. At first she didn’t pay much attention to the woman since she was busy making sure everything was in order, but when she finally looked up, Dinah was shocked. 

“Hello Tayira Jamilah, it is good to see you again.”

Nyssa al Ghul knew that Laurel died; that moment had damaged a piece of her soul and left her feeling as hollowed out as when Sara had left. It had taken her everything she had not to demand Ta-er al-Usfar take her back and let her save Laurel. Standing in front of her now was just as painful.

Dinah stood there gaping at Nyssa, unable to believe she was here. Her memories of the other woman were scarce, but Dinah knew that Laurel loved her deep down even if she hadn’t been able to show it. After a few seconds of staring, she dropped what she was doing and came out from behind the counter to hug Nyssa.

They held each other tightly for a few minutes before Nyssa pulled back to look at Dinah’s face. The two women stared into each other’s eyes, just soaking in the sight of each other. Nyssa wasn’t her girlfriend on her world, but Dinah knew her well and was fond of her growing up. They lost touch whenever her life fell to pieces.

Nyssa drew in a breath before saying, “It is selfish of me to admit, but I am very glad you’re here. You aren’t my Laurel, however I can let myself imagine.”

“I’m not your Laurel, I’m not Laurel at all. My name is Dinah Lance and I have loved you Nyssa Raatko since we were children.”

Dinah watched as the shock and confusion swept across her face. Nyssa probably had many questions for her, but those could be answered later. Right now, her only job was to be here in the moment. Dinah cupped Nyssa’s face and drew her into a sweet kiss before anything else could be said.

A new life and a new love.

 

**MAY 2018-**

 

“Watch out!”

Dinah turned towards her girlfriend’s voice and saw a bad guy coming towards her. She quickly fixed her stance so she could block and attack him, eventually knocking him out.

Nyssa came to stand beside her once they were done fighting and took her hand. They stood there for a moment while they waited for the rest of the team to catch up to them. This was a normal mission, but Dinah was still happy to be on it. She found her groove fighting alongside her girlfriend and with the rest of the team.

“You did so well my love; I almost have nothing left to teach you,” Nyssa said.

Dinah winked at her and replied, “I still look forward to our sparring sessions, though.” 

They continued to flirt for a few minutes until Oliver came in over the comms for an update. The mission was a simple evidence gathering so it was just the three of them out in the field that night. Once he got what he needed, they headed back to headquarters.

“Good work tonight Siren and Lamia, meet back here tomorrow for a debrief,” he said after they handed the data over to Felicity. 

There was no need to tell them twice. The two women changed into their street clothes quickly, grabbed their bags with their costumes inside, and headed home. As they walked, Dinah reached out to grab Nyssa’s hand and gently squeezed it. She lead her girlfriend towards the walking path by the river, content to just breathe in the night as they walked. 

After a while, Nyssa stopped and pulled Dinah in close. She wrapped her arms around the other woman and held her for a while. Every now and again Nyssa would remember her Laurel and all the things they could have been, all the things she has with Dinah. A brief moment passed and Nyssa leaned in to kiss her girlfriend.

There was no place Dinah wanted to be more than right there at that moment. She had come so far, and her life was whole again.


End file.
